Concrete conduit forming machine with mechanical means for moving concrete from feed table into form and cleaning table



Sept. 26, 1967 E. v. BURTON ETAL 3,

CONCRETE CONDUIT FORMING MACHINE WITH MECHANICAL MEANS FOR MOVING CONCRETE FROM FEED TABLE INTO FORM AND CLEANING TABLE Filed May 5, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 [mm/ff V. Buffer? Hauue/ C Jfo/A INVENTORS ATTOR/VE VJ E. v. BURTON ETAL Sept. 26, 1967 3,343,237

CONCRETE CONDUIT FORMING MACHINE WITH MECHANICAL MEANS FOR MOVING CONCRETE FROM FEED TABLE INTO FORM AND CLEANING TABLE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 5, 1965 Bur fan .12) e C Jfa/A' INVENTORS ATTORA/EVJ p 1967 E. v. BURTON ETAL 3,343,237

1TH MECHANICAL CONCRETE CONDUIT FORMING MACHINE W MEANS FOR MOVING CONCRETE FROM FEED TABLE INTO FORM AND CLEANING TABLE 3 Sheets- Sheet 3 Filed May 5, 1965 I N VEN TORS A 7' 7' ORA/E KS United States Patent 3,343,237 CONCRETE CONDUIT FORMING MACHINE WITH MECHANICAL MEANS FOR MOVING CON- CRETE FROM FEED TABLE INTO FORM AND CLEANING TABLE Emmitt V. Burton and Hassel C. Stark, Dallas, Tex., as-

signors, by mesne assignments, of forty-four percent to Douglas N. Norton, twelve and one-half percent to Marion C. McKinley, two and one-half percent to Ruth J. Garnett, four percent to John W. Brandenberger, seven and one-half percent to H. W. Lehman, two and one-half percent to Ida Perkins, one percent to Vernon G. Stamm, one percent to Henry J. Denton, one percent to Browning & Simms, a partnership, all of Houston, Tex.; twenty-two percent to William F. Newton, one percent to W. R. Sellers, and one percent to Glynn S. McClellan, all of Conroe, Tex.

Filed May 3, 1965, Ser. No. 452,778 6 Claims. (Cl. 2536) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE by a pneumatically actuated piston and cylinder. A hinged blade part is pivoted to each end of the blade and means provided for pivoting each hinged part toward the opening as the main blade approaches the opening to clear concrete from three sides of the opening simultaneously.

This invention relates to a machine adapted for forming conduit of concrete or the like with mechanical means for moving concrete or other form filling material from the feed table of the machine into the form.

Concrete conduit forming machines of the general type to which this invention applies have been successfully devised and used in the past as, for example, the machine shown and described in US. Patent No. 3,106,005, dated Oct. 8, 1963.

However, in the operation of such a machine it has been necessary as part of each cycle of the operation that the form filling material after being mechanically delivered to the upper surface of a feed table having a hole therein registering with the upper end of the form, for the human operator to reach around the rotating packer shaft or shafts extending into the form through such hole in the feed table with his hands and arms to manually scrape the form filling material into the hole in the table to clean it off of the table top and so that it would fall into the form. This operation is time consuming and takes up a considerable portion of the time required for the overall completion of one form filling cycle of the machine. Additionally, it is somewhat dangerous in that the operator must place his hands and arms around unguarded operating parts of the machine and particularly around the rotating shafts extending into the form.

Furthermore, means must be provided for closing the upper end of the form of such machine just before the forming operation is completed, leaving an opening or openings only sufiicient to permit the passage of the packer heads from the upper end of the form. It has been proposed that such closure for the upper end of the form be raised to an out-of-the-way position spaced above the upper surface of the feed table during the major portion of the form filling operation so as to provide the maximum opening for filling the form and thereby speeding up the operation.

3,343,237 Patented Sept. 26, 1967 However, the means for supporting such form and closing means in form end closing position have depended upon contact with the upper surface of the table, and in order that the form end closing means be accurately supported in the desired position, it is necessary that all form filling material be carefully removed from the upper surface of the table prior to the lowering of the form end closing means and its support into contact with the upper surface of the table. This requires even further expenditure of time and exercise of care by the operator and is always attended by the danger that the form end closing means support may accidentally be lowered while the operators arms and hands are therebeneath.

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a mechanical means for completely removing the form filling material from the upper surface of the table into the opening through which it is fed to the form, thereby eliminating much of the necessity for the operator to place hands, arms or portions of his body in dangerous positions relative to the machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a mechanical means which will operate at high speed and substantially shorten the total operating cycle of the machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a mechanical means which will very efficiently and quickly clear the upper surface of the table of form filling material so that a support for a form end closing means may be brought into full contact with the upper surface of the table and accurately position the form end closing means in form end closing position.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken with the accompanying drawings wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example one embodiment of this invention. It is noted that in the illustration in the drawings and in the following description certain portions of the over-all machine have not been illustrated reference being had to the above-mentioned prior patent for a disclosure thereof inasmuch as their previous form and arrangement as shown in said prior patent need not be modified for use in the combination with the mechanical means provided by this invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view partly in vertical cross section and partly in front elevation of a machine embodying the present invention, omitting, however, the main frame, certain raising and lowering mechanisms, details of mounting the turntable and the like which are not altered by the incorporation of the present invention into the machine.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the feed table of the machine illustrated in FIG. 1, showing the mechanical mechanism in accordance with this invention mounted on the rear edge of the feed table and occupying the position which it assumes when not feeding form filling material into the opening in the feed table and thence into the form.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross section substantially at right angles to the showing in FIG. 1 and taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2, showing the mechanical feeding mechanism in the same position it occupies in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the mechanical feed mechanism in position With its respective parts extending substantially along a plurality of the sides of the opening through the feed table into the form.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4 and showing the mechanism in the position it occupies in FIG. 4.

adapted to support the form with its lower end resting thereon and the form in upright position. A plurality of guides or positioning lugs 2 are spaced about such opening in the turntable so as to guide the lower end of the form 3 into register with the opening and properly position it on the turntable. The lower end of the form 3 is provided on its inner surface with lugs or the like 4 adapted to receive and support the lower end closing member or pallet 5 which provides the lower end of the form leaving only the openings 6 therethrough which are of the size of the passageways to be provided through the conduit. The illustration in FIG. 1 shows the form after the same has been filled and the conduit formed therein and illustrates the openings 7 through the conduit. It will be understood that this invention is not limited as to the number of openings to .be provided in such a conduit but that any number of openings desired may be provided, whether there be one or a goodly number thereof.

Shown resting on the upper end of the form 3 is a feed table 10 which likewise is of a construction that is in a large degree conventional, this table being adapted to be raised from the position shown by any suitable means while being held aligned by guides 11 or the like. It will be raised to an elevated position clear of the form 3 whenever it is desired to insert a new form or remove one that has been filled.

This feed table 10 has an opening 12 therethrough which likewise is substantially the same size as the open upper end of the form 3, and about this opening on the under side of the feed table the same is provided with guide lugs or stops 13 adapted to engage the outer upper edge of a form and guide the same into accurate register with the opening 12 when the feed table is lowered onto a form.

Around the outer edge of the feed table the same is preferably provided with an upwardly extending flange or barrier 14 adapted to prevent form filling material from falling off of the feed table due to vibration and other causes.

The upper end of the form must be closed prior to completion of the forming operation, and for this purpose an upper form end closing member or pallet 20 is provided having openings 21 therein of the size of the passageways to be provided through the conduit to be produced. Such upper form end closure may be carried by the feed table 10, but in order to leave the opening 12 in the feed table free of obstruction insofar as possible and thereby facilitate the feeding of form filling material therethrough, the upper form end closure is preferably suspended by means of bolts or the like 22 from a support plate 23 which is in turn carried by support brackets 24. The support brackets 24 are pivotally connected to the lower ends of links 25 on the opposite sides of the opening 12 in the feed table and the links 25 in turn are connected to one arm of each of a pair of hell crank levers 26, these levers being pivotally fulcrumed in brackets 27 fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the feed table 10.

The other arm of each of the bell crank levers 26 is connected by links 28 to levers 29 of which there is one disposed on each of the opposite sides of the machine. The levers 29 are pivoted on a cross beam 30 carried on upright supports 31 at opposite ends of the feed table. The levers 29 are interconnected by a pitman 32 so that they will operate in unison and raise the two ends of the form end closure support 23 simultaneously. The levers 29 are actuated alternatively in directions to raise and to lower such support and hence the form end closure 20 by means of a fluid motor comprising a piston rod 33, a cylinder 34 and a piston (not shown) within the cylinder 34, the cylinder being anchored to a bracket 35 mounted on the cross beam 30. The piston within the cylinder 34 may be actuated by any suitable power fluid such as hydraulic fluid or air under pressure.

The upward movement of the form end closure support 23 will be limited by the lower end of the right-hand lever 29 striking an adjustable screw threaded stop 36 mounted on the right-hand upright frame member 31. The downward movement of this support, however, is limited by contact of the under side of the support with a plurality of set screw stops 37 threaded through and projecting slightly above the upper surface of the feed table 10. These screws 37 likewise may be adjusted so as to regulate the exact level at which the form end closure 20 will stop when lowered into its form end closing position.

It will be seen that the raising of the form end closure to its upper position by the mechanism just described will leave the opening 12 in the feed table free of obstruction so that form filling material may be fed into and permitted to fall through this opening into the form for filling the same. On the other hand, the very presence of the form end closure and its support a short distance above the feed table will offer some interference with the manual operation of an operator reaching underneath the same to scrape the form filling material which will collect thereon from the top of the table into the opening 12. Furthermore, such a device leaves a somewhat greater opportunity for an accident due to accidental lowering of the form end closure and its support while the operators hands or arms are underneath the same.

As is somewhat conventional with this general type of machine, the form filling material is fed through the opening 12 in the feed table by suitable mechanism through a chute 38 which empties the same directly into the opening 12 in the feed table.

As is also conventional with this general type of machine a gear box and drive mechanism 40 mounted on means for raising and lowering the same is provided above the opening 12 in the feed table and extending downwardly from it are one or more shafts 41, there being one such shaft for each opening 7 with which the conduit to be formed is provided. On the lower end of each of these shafts is a packer head 42 adapted to be raised and lowered so as to pass into the upper end of the form 3 and downwardly to the lower end thereof and then raised again to the upper end and removed from the form through the upper end while the shafts 41 and the packer heads 42 are being rotated by the drive mechanism and the gear box 40. This operation serves to form the passageways or openings 7 through the conduit as it is molded in the form 3. Needless to say, the openings 6 in the lower form end closure 5 and the openings 21 in the upper form end closure 20 are of a size to permit passage of the packer heads 42. The upper form end closure 20 preferably occupies its upper position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 during the major portion of the filling of the form but prior to the time the packer heads 42 arrive at the upper end of the form, this upper end closure 20 must be lowered to the position shown in FIG. 1 so as to complete the molding operation by the rotation and simultaneous withdrawal of the packer heads 42 from the form. During this last phase of the forming operation any excess of form filling material will be forced out through the upper end form closure openings 21 and laterally through the space between this closure and the support 23. This, in many cases, will displace some of the form filling material onto the table 10 around the opening 12.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a pusher blade having a main part 50 and laterally extending parts 51 and 52 articulated with respect to the part 50 and extending in opposite directions from the opposite ends thereof, this blade being located to the rear edge of the feed table so that the form filling material dropping from the chute 38 which may miss the opening 12 will fall between the pusher blade and the opening 12 on the feed table.

The pusher blade parts 50, 51 and 52 are articulated with respect to each other by some suitable means such as the hinge or pivotal connections 54 and 55, it being preferred that these parts will be somewhat more nearly in a straight line when in retracted position as illustrated in FIG. 2 in which they occupy a position remote from the opening 12, as compared with the position in which they are shown in FIG. 4 when advanced to push form filling material from the top of the feed table into the opening 12. In this last position it will be seen that the part 50 of the pusher blade extends substantially along one side or edge of the opening 12 while the parts 51 and 52, respectively, extend generally along, although not parallel in the illustration given, with respect to two of the other sides of the opening 12. The degree to which the parts 51 and 52 approach parallelism to the other two sides of the opening 12 may, of course, be determined as a matter of desire of the designer. Also the extent of this movement toward parallelism to such sides of the opening may be varied in either direction from that illustrated so long as these parts of the blade are moved sufliciently toward positions along such sides of the opening as to do an effective job of sweeping the form filling material into the opening.

In order that the lower edge of the blade may not rest in metal-to-metal contact upon the upper surface of the table 10, it is preferred that a flexible and relatively soft element such as a piece of webbing, soft rubber, or leather be secured along the lower edge of the blade as a continuous element from one end of the blade to the other as shown at 56. This will enable the blade proper to be mounted slightly away from the upper surface of the table and not actually engage the same although it would be close to this upper surface, yet the element 56 would be held either in contact with or extremely close to the upper surface of the table so as to do an effective job of pushing or sweeping the form filling material therefrom.

The main blade element 50 is guided in any suitable fashion for movement in a direction preferably directly toward and away from the opening 12, but in any event, a direction transverse to the edge of the blade which is adjacent the table 10 and in a direction generally toward or away from the opening 12. Such guiding is accomplished in the illustration shown by means of guide rods 57 welded or otherwise suitably secured to the rear surface of the main blade part 50 and carried in guide tubes or the like 58 which are in turn mounted in a frame 59 secured by screws or bolts 60 to a rearward extension of the feed table 10. These interenga-ging guide elements rigidly control the movement of the main blade part 50. Also carried by the frame 59 is a cylinder 61 shown parallel to the guide tubes 58 and having within it a piston 62 or the like carried on the rear end of a push rod 63 which in turn is secured to the rear surface of the main blade part 50. It is preferred that the motive power for the fluid motor consisting of the cylinder 61 and the piston 62 be pneumatic pressure fluid such as compressed air because of the extremely rapid operation that may be provided by such a motor.

Adjacent its opposite ends the main blade part 50 is also illustrated as being provided with a pair of brackets 64 welded or otherwise suitably secured thereto and each having a lever 65 fulcrumed on its rearward end. One end of each of the levers 65 is connected by a link 66 to each one of the articulated parts 51 and 52 of the pusher blade, being pivoted to the lever 65 and the pusher blade part, respectively, so as not to interfere with the swinging movement of each of the blade parts 51 and 52 with respect to the main blade part 50. At all times the blade parts 51 and 52 are urged toward retracted position with respect to the main blade part 50 by means of springs 67, each of which is secured at one end to the pivotal connection between one of the levers 65 and the links 66 and at its other end to a bracket 68 carried on an operat- 6 ing rod 69. Thus, the blade parts 50, 51 and 52 will occupy the position relative to each other as shown in FIG. 2 at all times except when forced to a different position by actuation of the fluid motor made up of the cylinder 61 and the piston 62.

On the rear end of each of the operating rods 69 is a stop 70 which may be in the form of a nut as shown, and which is so positioned relative to the rear plate of the frame 59 that when the pusher blade assembly is moved forwardly by means of the fluid motor 61-62, the blade parts will occupy the position shown until the stops 70 strike against the frame 59, whereupon the parts 51 and 52 will be caused to articulate with respect to the part 50 until they move to the position shown in FIG. 4.

The clear result of the operation just described will be that form filling material previously deposited upon the upper surface of the feed table either by being displaced from the form by the packer heads 42 as they move upwardly toward the upper end of the form or by being dropped from the chute 38 and missing the opening 12, will be pushed into the opening 12 and caused to drop into the form below. The operation of the piston and cylinder combination 61 and 62 by means of air pressure or the like may be caused to take place with extreme rapidity such that movement of the parts of the blades from the position illustrated in FIG. 2 to that illustrated in FIG. 4 will take place with such extreme rapidity that the time consumed will be negligible and the material will be literally thrown into the opening 12 and into the form.

It will be apparent from FIGS. 3 and 5 that during the operation just described the upper form end closure 20 will be elevated to a position such that its support 23-24 will be located above the path of movement of the blade 50-51-52. Thus the form end closure 20 and its support will not interfere with the operation of the mechanical form feeder mechanism.

On the other hand, it is contemplated that the point at which the support for the upper end closure 20 rests upon the table 10 to determine the position of the upper end closure in its lower position, will be at least partly within the path of the pusher blade parts 50-51-52. By this means it will be seen that the place for such support to rest on the feed table will be cleaned of form feeding material by the pushed blade and the form feeding material will not interfere with the proper seating of the form end closure support.

In addition to greatly speeding up the cycle of operation of such machine, it will be appreciated that the mechanical feeding mechanism described will avoid the necessity for an operator continually to reach around behind the rotating shafts 41 and underneath the gear box 40 and the raised form end closure support 23-24 with all of the attendant dangers hereinbefore described.

While only one mechanical pusher or feeder mechanism is shown, it will be apparent that as many as desirable to remove material from the feed table top into the form may be provided.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as i1- lustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having beendescribed, what is claimed is:

1. In a machine for forming conduit of concrete or the like having a base, a form support thereon for supporting a form in upright position in which it is adapted to have a conduit formed therein with a longitudinal bore, a shaft longitudinally and rotatably movably mounted on said base for extending into a form when so supported through the upper end thereof, a packer head carried on the lower end of said shaft, means for rotating said shaft and moving it longitudinally to insert the said packer head into such form and withdraw it therefrom, means for closing the upper end of said form during at least a portion of the forming of a conduit therein and having an opening therein of a size to permit passage of said packer head therethrough, and a feed table above the position of the upper end of a form carried in said machine during filling thereof, said table having an opening therein adapted for alignment with the upper end of said form during such filling so that form filling material on said table may be pushed into said opening to fall therethrough into said form, the improvement which comprises a pusher blade having one edge closely adjacent and parallel to the upper surface of said table and extending upwardly from said table, guide means guiding movement of said blade transversely of its said edge between a first position spaced from said table opening and a second position closely adjacent and extending generally along the edge of said table opening, and means for moving said blade from said first position to said second position and back to said first position to push form filling material from said table into said opening, said blade having a plurality of parts adapted to extend generally along each of a plurality of sides of said table opening when said blade is in said second position, the plurality of parts of said blade being movably connected to one another, and a means actuated by movement of said blade toward and from said second position to move said parts relative to one another from a disposition more remote from the sides of said opening respectively in said first position to a disposition to partially embrace said table opening when in said second position.

2. In a machine for forming conduit of concrete or the like having a base, a form support thereon for supporting a form in upright position in which it is adapted to have a conduit formed therein with a longitudinal bore, a shaft longitudinally and rotatably movably mounted on said base for extending into a form when so supported through the upper end thereof, a packer head carried on the lower end of said shaft, means for rotating said shaft and moving it longitudinally to insert said packer head into such form and withdraw it therefrom, means for closing the upper end of said form during at least a portion of the forming of a conduit therein and having an opening therein of a size to permit passage of said packer head therethrough, and a feed table above the position of the upper end of a form carried in said machine during filling thereof, said table having an opening therein adapted for alignment with the upper end of said form during such filling so that form filling material on said table may be pushed into said opening to fall therethrough into said form, the improvement which comprises a pusher blade having one edge closely adjacent and parallel to the upper surface of said table and extending upwardly from said table, guide means guiding movement of said blade transversely of its said edge between a first position spaced from said table opening and a second position closely adjacent and extending generally along the edge of said table opening, and means for moving said blade from said first position to said second position and back to said first position to push form filling material from said table into said opening, said blade having a plurality of parts adapted to extend generally along each of a plurality of sides of said table opening when said blade is in said second position, the plurality of parts of said blade being movably connected to one another, and a means actuated by movement of said blade toward and away from said second position to move said parts relative to one another from a disposition more remote from the sides of said opening respectively in said first position to a disposition to partially embrace said table opening when in said second position, a support for said form end closing means secured to same from above and having parts engageable with the upper surface of said table to suspend said form end closing means through said table opening in form end closing position, and means for raising said support to raise said form end closing means above said table and leave said table opening unobstructed for filling said form, the engagement of said support with said table being in the path of movement of said blade and said support in raised position being clear of the path of movement of said blade.

3. The improvement set forth in claim 1 in combination with means for delivering form filling material into said table opening so positioned that material missing such table opening will fall onto said table between said blade and said table opening when said blade is in said first position.

4. The improvement set forth in claim 1 in which the means for moving the blade is a compressed gas actuated motor.

5. In a machine for forming conduit of concrete or the like having a base, a form support thereon for supporting a form in upright position in which it is adapted to have a conduit formed therein with a longitudinal bore, a shaft longitudinally and rotatably movably mounted on said base for extending into a form when so supported through the upper end thereof, a packer head carried on the lower end of said shaft, means for rotating said shaft and moving it longitudinally to insert said packer head into such form and withdraw it therefrom, means for closing the upper end of said form during at least a portion of the forming of a conduit therein and having an opening therein of a size to permit passage of said packer head therethrough, and a feed table above the position of the upper end of a form carried in said machine during filling thereof, said table having an opening therein adapted for alignment with the upper end of said form during such filling so that form filling material on said table may be pushed into said opening to fall therethrough into said form, the improvement which comprises a pusher blade having one edge closely adjacent and parallel to the upper surface of said table and extending upwardly from said table, guide means guiding movement of said blade transversely of its said edge between a first position spaced from said table opening and a second position closely adjacent and extending generally along one edge of said table opening, and means for moving said blade from said first position to said second position and back to said first position to push form filling material from said table into said opening, said blade having a plurality of parts adapted to extend generally along each of a plurality of sides of said table opening when said blade is in said second position, the plurality of parts of said blade being articulated to one another, and a means actuated by movement of said blade toward and from said second position to move said parts relative to one another from a disposition more nearly in alignment with one another in said first position to a disposition to partially embrace said table opening when in said second position.

6. In a machine for forming conduit of concrete or the like having a base, a form support thereon for supporting a form in upright position in which it is adapted to have a conduit formed therein with a longitudinal bore, a shaft longitudinally and rotatably movably mounted on said base for extending into a form when so supported through the upper end thereof, a packer head carried on the lower end of said shaft, means for rotating said shaft and moving it longitudinally to insert said packer head into such form and withdraw it therefrom, means for closing the upper end of said form during at least a portion of the forming of a conduit therein and having an opening therein of a size to permit passage of said packer head therethrough, and a feed table above the position of the upper end of a form carried in said machine during filling thereof, said table having an opening therein adapted for alignment with the upper end of said form during such filling so that form filling material on said table may be pushed into said opening to fall therethrough into said form, the improvement which comprises a pusher blade having one edge closely adjacent and parallel to the upper surface of said table and extending upwardly from said table, guide means guiding movement of said blade transversely of its said edge between a first position spaced from said table opening and a second position closely adjacent and extending generally along one edge of said table opening, and means for moving said blade from said first position to said second position and back to said first position to push form filling material from said table into said opening, a support for said form end closing means secured to same from above and having parts engageable with the upper surface of said table to suspend said fiorm end closing means through said table References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 563,760 7/ 1896 Folsom 15-9-3 2,416,908 3/1947 Cornelius 21423 2,593,665 4/1952 Classen ZS--36 3,106,005 10/ 1963 McGrew 25--36 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner. R. D. BALDWIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A MACHINE FOR FORMING CONDUIT FOR CONCRETE OR THE LIKE HAVING A BASE, A FORM SUPPORT THEREON FOR SUPPORTING A FORM IN UPRIGHT POSITION IN WHICH IT IS ADAPTED TO HAVE A CONDUIT FORMED THEREIN WITH A LONGITUDINAL BORE, A SHAFT LONGITUDINALLY AND ROTATABLY MOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASE FOR EXTENDING INTO A FORM WHEN SO SUPPORTED THROUGH THE UPPER END THEREOF, A PACKER HEAD CARRIED ON THE LOWER END OF SAID SHAFT, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID SHAFT AND MOVING IT LONGITUDINALLY TO INSERT THE SAID PACKER HEAD INTO SUCH FORM AND WITHDRAW IT THEREFROM, MEANS FOR CLOSING THE UPPER END OF SAID FORM DURING AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE FORMING OF A CONDUIT THEREIN AND HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN OF A SIZE TO PERMIT PASSAGE OF SAID PACKER HEAD THERETHROUGH, AND A FEED TABLE ABOVE THE POSITION OF THE UPPER END OF A FORM CARRIED IN SAID MACHINE DURING FILLING THEREOF, SAID TABLE HAVING AN OPENING THEREIN ADAPTED FOR ALIGNMENT WITH THE UPPER END OF SAID FORM DURING SUCH FILLING SO THAT FORM FILLING MATERIAL ON SAID TABLE MAY BE PUSHED INTO SAID OPENING TO FALL THERETHROUGH INTO SAID FORM, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES A PUSHER BLADE HAVING ONE EDGE CLOSELY ADJACENT AND PARALLEL TO THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID TABLE AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID TABLE, GUIDE MEANS GUIDING MOVEMENT OF SAID BLADE TRANSVERSELY OF ITS SAID EDGE BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION SPACED FROM SAID TABLE OPENING AND A SECOND POSITION CLOSELY ADJACENT AND EXTENDING GENERALLY ALONG THE EDGE OF SAID TABLE OPENING, AND MEANS FOR MOVING SAID BLADE FROM SAID FIRST POSITION ON SAID SECOND POSITION AND BACK TO SAID FIRST POSITION TO PUSH FORM FILLING MATERIAL FROM SAID TABLE INTO SAID OPENING, SAID BLADE HAVING A PLURALITY OF PARTS ADAPTED TO EXTEND GENERALLY ALONG EACH OF A PLURALITY OF SIDES OF SAID TABLE OPENING WHEN SAID BLADE IS IN SAID SECOND POSITION, THE PLURALITY OF PARTS OF SAID BLADE BEING MOVABLY CONNECTED TO ONE OTHER, AND A MEANS ACTUATED BY MOVEMENT OF SAID BLADE TOWARD AND FROM SAID SECOND POSITION TO MOVE SAID PARTS RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER FROM A DISPOSITION MORE REMOTE FROM THE SIDES OF SAID OPENING RESPECTIVELY IN SAID FIRST POSITION TO A DISPOSITION TO PARTIALLY EMBRACE SAID TABLE OPENING WHEN IN SAID SECOND POSITION. 